Understanding the Veda

    Generally speaking, the Veda is something restricted to a section of the people who know samskruta bhasha and chant the mantra, the Brahmins. But this is not so! Also, it is wrong to say that there are four Vedas! There are people who go on chattering about the Veda, not knowing a single word of it! This state of ignorance is the main reason why the brahmins are ridiculed. The Veda is simply means 'Vidya', 'Knowledge'. In this sense of the term all knowledge is considered vidya. Maharishi Mahesha Yogi has given the classification of the Veda under forty divisions and sub-divisions. These are the Veda, the Vedanga, the Veda upanga, Veda pratishakhyas and the like. 

    One who knows the Veda is called 'Vedavidu'. One who creates the Veda is the 'Vedakrut'. A 'Viwan' is one who knows the Vidya, 'vid', meaning, 'Knowledge'. Now, the question is: Who is the 'Knower'? Also, "What is 'to be known'? What remains once what is to be known is already known? These are explained as jnyana (Knowledge), jnyeya ('That' which has to be Known), jnyata (one who knows). 'Brahman' is the Knowledge to be known, and, 'He', the Brahmn, is the only one who knows! Ultimately, everything is 'brahmn', the highest knowledge (para vidya) to be known! All else is lower knowledge, (apara vidya)! The scriptural knowledge leading to 'brahmn' is the real knowledge (para), intransient, permanent, immutable, unchanging, unborn, eternal and immortal! The knowledge leading to the material world is the (apara), the transient, ever-changing, impermanent, subject to deterioration and degeneration.  

   Understanding the Veda is not easy. It is impossible to know even one mantra well, let alone a sukta consisting of several mantra! There are 10 552 mantra in the Rk Veda Samhita consisting of 1028 suktas. There are suktas that praise the Elemental Gods, such as, Agn, Vayu, Jal (Nadi), Pruthvi, Akasha. In the beginning the Veda was imparted by Brahma Deva to his Brain-child, manasaputrah Atharvan. This is the Ekayana Veda. Mundakopanishat has the first mantra that states Brahma imparted this Veda to Atharvan to his first-born Atharva.  Brahma is the Creator, the Mind!  Atharvan is the State of Absolute, 'Sat' that manifests as the 'chit'. The vibration of Chit as chitta is the chittavrutti.

   During the early days of Vedic age, it was traditional to chant all the Veda mantra before taking food. This used to take lot of time and the Vedic pundits requested the Lord to help them. Sri Krishna Dvaipayana classified the Veda mantra into four divisions as per the function involved and thereby came to be known as Veda Vyasa. The total number of mantra was about 20 000 imparted to Atharvana, may be Lord Ganapati, whom it is addressed in the Rk Veda first. Thus, the Ekayana Veda, was just Atharva Veda classified by Sage Veda Vyasa. All the Riks (mantra) that deal with Creation are put in the Rk Veda Samhita. The same mantra used to praise, sing, the glory of Gods is in the group of Saman. Mantra used for rituals of forming the Fire pit in the shape of a Bird Hamsa, as per the tradition, Agni Kunda, and then kindling Fire, worship, and offer ahuti, havis, and pray are all in the Yajurveda. The remaining mantra that help people to live a happy. healthy and joyful life remained as the Atharva Veda. There are people who follow certain Vedic traditions came to be known after the Veda mantra they practice, such as, the Rugvedi, Yajurvedi. Some practiced only one or tw or thre or all the four branches and came to be known as Dvivedi, Trivedi, or Chaturvedi.

    The Veda mantra are considered very powerful and effective. The Veda pundits knew that these mantra mantra may be misused by the unscrupulous people and hence tried to keep them secret. Now, the Western Scholars have translated the available texts and mostly misinterpreted them. Understanding the knowledge hidden in the Veda mantra that leads one to param padam, the highest seat, is not easy! There are symbols, imageries, similes, and some dummy words in the mantra that make ordinary people fools if they try to interpret them! Only Yogic practices that take one to transcendental state (samadhi) reveal the self, bring Atmasakshatkara, 'Realization of the Self', will help to get a correct understanding of the Veda mantra (like the Vayu stuti, Gayatri mantra, Rudra, and Shata rudriya, purusha sukta, Shree sukta, etc.).We cannot understand even one mantra properly, in this sense of the real meaning of the Veda.